High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound in Dentistry: A Literature Review

Abstract

Although high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) has been applied widely in medicine, utilising its non-invasive dual ablation and thermal coagulation properties, its application in dentistry has primarily remained in the research phase, predominantly in in vitro studies. Nonetheless, there has been a consistent increase in the number of publications on this subject in recent decades, focusing on areas such as remineralisation of dentine surfaces, removal of smear layers, drug delivery, and microbial elimination. The number of advantages HIFU can offer, such as its non-surgical nature, absence of ionising radiation, lack of residue, and absence of aerosols, is driving this upward trend, indicating the potential for HIFU in clinical dentistry and ongoing efforts towards developing HIFU-based devices for routine dental use. This succinct review aims to outline the historical context, operational mechanisms of HIFU, summarise recent dental research, and provide a forward-looking perspective on the role of HIFU in modern clinical dentistry.

Keywords: Biofilm removal destruction; Dentine remineralisation; Drug delivery; HIFU; Peri-implantitis; Smear layer removal.

Figure

Principle of geometric/mechanical focusing vs electronic high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) mechanisms. A, Geometric focusing: focal point (f) is calculated using the formula AB = R sin α = f sin (α – β) where R = transducer surface curvature radius. B, Electronic focusing mechanism using time delay line (L) to generate a combined single electrical impulse from various elements, resulting in focusing echoes. Courtesy of Kalamarz et al.